No Turbo for me; Verizon thinks red tape is so much fun (vent/rant)

I own a 32GB Droid Maxx. Had it for a year. I would like the Turbo. If I want it, I can Edge up. (Some people are anti-Edge; just stick to the story here, okay? There's a time and place for that argument; it's not here.) My wife is also on my plan, among the five people total. She has the 16GB Droid Maxx. Both of us want more memory. We know how we use our phones, so 32GB would suit my wife fine. Really, she needs about a good 20GB so 32 is overkill for her. Her memory demand is to use her phone as her MP3 source as well due to her iPod dying, and she knows I have used mine as a MP3 source just fine over the years. Plus, I want more memory for my phone because I have a lot of stuff and it would suit me better. That, and I get a new toy, and well, we guys love our electronics, right? lol

So on the surface, we figure we'll go into Verizon, I'll Edge up, I'll give my wife my own phone, and if we have to surrender a phone, we'll just surrender hers and all is well. Simple triangle trade. Verizon gives me Turbo, I give wife 32GB Maxx, she turns into Verizon the 16GB Maxx.

Well, it doesn't work that way. They tell me at the store that *MY* phone has to be the one that is traded in because of others exploiting loopholes. Look, I have been with Verizon for nearly 10 years. This is the first time I have attempted to upgrade early before the Verizon contract would normally allow (I remember the days of 20 months and upgrade early to keep you locked up; didn't seem too long ago.) Apparently this doesn't matter, since it's about Verizon (indirectly) accusing me of being someone trying to cheat the system.

But, the salesman recognizes this at least. It's not HIS fault this policy is in place. I'm not going to get all psycho-mad at him, nor do I have a desire to. What did he do? Besides, he did tell me to call customer service and see if there's anything that can be done because he has seen this situation before and workarounds were made so it can be done.

So by the time I got home last night, and did other stuff, it was too late to call. Early this morning I called and spoke to a CSR at VZW. He could not have been more monotone and non-descript and basically towed the company line and said no, it can't be done, I have to surrender my phone and pay ETFs and other applicable fees if I don't.

I called the store and talked to the same salesman. He said try calling again because he felt the CSR I spoke to was wrong. Now I work in a call center, and honestly, I HATE it when people call in and try to get someone else to get a different answer. Sometimes they do it multiple times as I check the call logs and I'm asking myself, "Seriously?" in a sarcastic tone. But, on the flip side, I also know sometimes one CSR screws up and the next person cleans up, and lord have I cleaned up my share of messes.

So, after I deliberated whether or not to be the very guy I despise and thus be a hypocrite, I swallowed my pride and decided I'd call one more time and be done with it if the answer didn't change. The lady said yes, I CAN edge up and do what I want to do. But there's one caveat: It has to be my wife's phone being edged up. Then, we have to swap phones. Which means down the road, if something happened to her phone, I'd have to edge up on my plan to get her set up, and it would just cause a humongous red tape issue on top of the red tape right now.

Yes, it was an answer to do what I wanted. But after the wife and I took a few hours to think about it, we've come to the conclusion that I shouldn't have to go through all this. I've been with them for 10 years. Yes, the phone is nice, but it's not worth doing all this hoop jumping and tape cutting. I should be able to go in, do what *I* want to do, VZW gets money, all is happy, and it's done soooo much easier. I can't help it others have done manipulative things to make Verizon modify it's Edge program to try and quash them; there is bad in every situation, and I've seen it in my line of work. But someone like me is getting punished because of others?

I've been with Verizon for nearly 10 years. I ask to do one simple thing and they can't do it. My thought is I'm going to the store tomorrow (I'm in for the night, I'd like to actually RELAX this holiday weekend at some point) and I'm going to put it out there and be like, "Look, it doesn't matter how it's done, you'd be getting money from me you otherwise aren't going to get. Why do it this convoluted way? It may not be your store's fault personally, but if it can't be done in the triangle trade I proposed -- which uses MY Edge up -- it's not worth it. I want to be in, out, done, not in, setting her up, then setting me up, then this and that, and wasting my time."

I know some would just do what the second CSR said to do and be done with it, but why should I have to? I'm not trying to rip anyone off. I just want my darn phone, but at this rate, I'm going to ride my contract out to next December 2015, let my wife and others on my plan have their contracts ride out to May 2016, and then examine my options. I may stay with Verizon if it is my best choice at that time, but it's crap like this that make me question why I should remain loyal to them. I want a new phone. I'm willing to pay and agree to new terms. Why force someone to climb Mount Everest rather than just fix a thing or two and just do it easily?

I've rambled a lot, and if you read it all, you have my eternal thanks for that and I appreciate it very much. I truly do. But I'm frustrated right now. This isn't my first customer service issue with Verizon, be it FiOS or VZW (I don't care if they're separate entities officially; it's the same name and that's what people see), and I tire of it. Every time I ask a question, it takes an Act of Congress to get it done.

I did read your whole post and your welcome, yes just buy your wife an ipod lol. But seriously for what it is worth Verizon is a pain in the rear to deal with! However you can possibly explore another option. Verizon is giving you a 25 line credit when you edge up. The cost of most phones on edge is in the 25 a month range. So what that amounts to is you pay the same thing per line and get a new phone (I just did this and got the G3). So my point here is why not edge both yours and your wifes line and get you both new Turbos (Great phone by the way) and pay about the same thing on your bill. Just my thoughts to maybe help you out good luck

I did read your whole post and your welcome, yes just buy your wife an ipod lol. But seriously for what it is worth Verizon is a pain in the rear to deal with! However you can possibly explore another option. Verizon is giving you a 25 line credit when you edge up. The cost of most phones on edge is in the 25 a month range. So what that amounts to is you pay the same thing per line and get a new phone (I just did this and got the G3). So my point here is why not edge both yours and your wifes line and get you both new Turbos (Great phone by the way) and pay about the same thing on your bill. Just my thoughts to maybe help you out good luck

I appreciate it fonefanatic. I really do. Now to address your post...

We did discuss this option, but the answer I expected came out of her mouth: she doesn't want to be locked into a Droid Turbo. She got a Maxx when she did because given our situation at the time (privacy requested here), it was the best option to give her a working phone as her Droid 4 was dying. But she wants a Samsung phone -- which there was a perfect deal that expired a week RIGHT BEFORE her contract could be renewed. So her next phone would be that route. And honestly, I can't blame her. She deserves to be happy and have the phone SHE wants, not a phone just so she can match me. But we're trying to make the best of it, and I figured if she's going to have a Maxx either way, may as well give her mine, which is perfectly fine, and gives her more memory.

Here's the other thing that's going to be another World War with Verizon: We're on a Nationwide plan. We never did More Everything. I kid you not, it is cheaper for us to remain on the 700 minute plan with my 6GB of data (I had to give up unlimited to upgrade, but, I never was a power data user as I have this uncanny knack right now to be near wifi), and my wife and mother-in-law on their double the datas of getting 4GBs of the price of 2GB for the life of the plan. I've read the fine print on the website and it says you gotta be on a ME plan to Edge up, but I've also been specifically told I don't have to change to Edge up.

Now you also can't take the website as the gospel, and this is why: the last time I considered an Edge up, I was on a one-bill with FiOS/VZW. Nowhere on the website did it say anything about this being an issue for Edge and that I must discontinue it. I called a CSR and asked where it says Edge and one bill do not mix, and she couldn't find it so she gave me a $10 credit for a short time for the inconvenience. (And I don't have one-bill now anyway; I was able to snag a savings on my FiOS that required me to break that one bill anyway, and I save more money now.)

Transparency is not a forte of VZW.

One last thing: Went to VZW trade-in pricer on its website. Droid Maxx simply is $75. It does not differentiate between the 16 or 32GB models. So... if both phones give the same reimbursement, then why do they care which phone they get? That further makes no sense of my original plight.

Damn that made me laugh. Swappa is great. Buy a og droid or even a droid pro and trade that in.
I didnt do a trade in. Wanted to hold onto my RMHD. Guaranteed the "little person" that lives in my house and doesnt pay rent will break hers in 6 months or so and need one.

Yeah, what louisstone mentioned When I got my Turbo I didn't want to give up my mint condition Razr Maxx so took in a old beat up Droid Incredible. It turned on and screen worked and that is all it takes to get $100. However, maybe it is different if you are still under contract?

To add to the confusing thing Verizon now does with their customers is something I experienced when switching to the Turbo. When I did so, I was not in contract so was getting a $10 per month discount for NOT being in contract!?!? For me to sign up and guarantee Verizon that they would have my business for 2 additional years, they are charging me $10 per month MORE to be IN contract guaranteeing them my money!?!? What kind of sense does this make??? This is totally opposite of what I would think a business would want... it seems to me they would want me to be in contract so they could lock in my business for 2 additional years but NOOOOO... they want to penalize me for staying with them 2 more years (or reward me for being month to month depending on how you look at it. This makes absolutely no sense to me. It seems the thing to do would be to give the discount to those in a contract and when you satisfy your contract your discount is lost thus giving you incentive to get in another contract with them. Hmm???

If you call them and ask for the Retention Department, and explain how utterly brain-dead they're being (in nicer words, of course, but that policy makes week old meat look smart), they can probably waive the additional $10/month to keep you as a customer (which is the reason the department exists - to retain you). They may even "waive" $15/month for your trouble if you ask nicely what they can do to keep you from switching to that other cellphone company, "not Verizon".

You want to Edge Up, but do not want to give up your phone, hence the necessity to 'jump through hoops'. A work-around could simply be to swap phones with your wife now on your own, then go in to Edge Up on your # with your wife's phone. Just keep your mouth shut about it and don't bring up unnecessary stuff, and I think you would be golden. You could even wait a few days if it makes you feel better... Also, if your wife is eligible to Edge Up now, why not just have her get the phone she wants? Then there is no 'shell game' or ' jumping of hoops'. Also, the whole point of the Edge program is that you do not have to be 'locked in' to any device if another comes along at a later date that you would prefer.

You want to Edge Up, but do not want to give up your phone, hence the necessity to 'jump through hoops'. A work-around could simply be to swap phones with your wife now on your own, then go in to Edge Up on your # with your wife's phone. Just keep your mouth shut about it and don't bring up unnecessary stuff, and I think you would be golden. You could even wait a few days if it makes you feel better... Also, if your wife is eligible to Edge Up now, why not just have her get the phone she wants? Then there is no 'shell game' or ' jumping of hoops'. Also, the whole point of the Edge program is that you do not have to be 'locked in' to any device if another comes along at a later date that you would prefer.

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She cannot Edge up unless it is to the Turbo. That is the promotion. I'm sure I could call a few times and find random VZW CCR No 39242 and get some resolution to that, but I saw the guy at the store pull up our info and it said for the Edge program the only phone that could be used is the Turbo. Again, if someone is WILLING to give you more money... I guess it's just me, but I'd be like, okay, fine, you want to pay money per month? Go for it! Trade up! But common sense is dead and the obituary is quite the read.

Anyway there are a few valid ideas in this thread since I last read it. I will not deny that you guys have good suggestions to try. But at the same time, the point is, why does something so simple require me to run through a brick wall? Wile E. Coyote has better success with ACME products.

If I have time tomorrow before football (because I need a day predominantly composed of rest), I'm going to go to the store and trying one more time. If that fails, well, so be it. The swapping sim cards may work, BUT, Murphy's Law probably says, "Well, Mr. Moocow, you were under contract since December 2013, and we see you traded in this phone with this ID number, and we have this ID number on file for you, so unless you fix this, we'll charge you $300 or whatever we feel like."

We'll see... it's just frustrating. It should be simple, and it isn't.

EDIT: The Sim Swap probably won't work. When I log into my account, my phone is CLEARLY identified as the 32GB model and hers as the 16GB in red color model. So even if I did the whole swap sims and make my phone hers and vice versa, then walked into the store, that Murphy's Law comment probably would happen. And I'm sure the whole "Turbo only" upgrade is a lie, too. At this point, I admit, I've had a wild Thanksgiving weekend and my mind is spinning enough as it is. Maybe it's best I go to bed and approach fresh tomorrow.

I used to work in tech support in a Verizon call center and I can tell you the way the computer software is set up, there is no way to swap Edge devices with someone on your account. You have to trade in the same IMEI device or one that was replaced by insurance/warranty. Not even a manager or associate director can override this. The only "Way" to do it would be for someone to credit the $299 non return fee that would auto populate the account. Finding someone to do that under there circumstances would be impossible as they audit credits. Having said all this do you think your local car dealer will allow you to trade in a different leased car? That's essentially what your doing if the Edge isn't paid off.

I used to work in tech support in a Verizon call center and I can tell you the way the computer software is set up, there is no way to swap Edge devices with someone on your account. You have to trade in the same IMEI device or one that was replaced by insurance/warranty. Not even a manager or associate director can override this. The only "Way" to do it would be for someone to credit the $299 non return fee that would auto populate the account. Finding someone to do that under there circumstances would be impossible as they audit credits. Having said all this do you think your local car dealer will allow you to trade in a different leased car? That's essentially what your doing if the Edge isn't paid off.

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The must be hundreds of thousands of companies, with hundreds of thousands of company policies (which we must have because you can't run a business making it up as you go along). And they all have customers that want to be the exceptions and can't understand. They usually start sentences with "yeah but, why all I want you to do is....."

I used to work in tech support in a Verizon call center and I can tell you the way the computer software is set up, there is no way to swap Edge devices with someone on your account. You have to trade in the same IMEI device or one that was replaced by insurance/warranty. Not even a manager or associate director can override this. The only "Way" to do it would be for someone to credit the $299 non return fee that would auto populate the account. Finding someone to do that under there circumstances would be impossible as they audit credits. Having said all this do you think your local car dealer will allow you to trade in a different leased car? That's essentially what your doing if the Edge isn't paid off.

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While your insight is appreciated, the thing is, leasing a car is discussing a $20,000 asset. These phones are drops in the bucket in comparison. So while the analogy is there, it doesn't quite fit at the same time.

And the phones have to be inspected anyways right? They have to be in working order, right? And in this case they're the same phone minus one memory difference and both of them only get us $75 apiece on their trade-in screen regardless. Not like mine is $100 and hers is $75, which then changes the ballgame. They basically treat our phones on the surface as he same, except when it comes to this. Then they want to pull the technical jargon out.

I am aware system limitations can impact things. That really does cause issue as I have seen it first hand in my job. To be clear I am not raging mad at anyone. I've been in those shoes. I've been in a software changeover to a new system. It isn't fun. But still, when you say in one way we have the same thing (which essentially we do)/for the sake perceived value, but in another we don't, which is it? And if we are both intent on staying, AND pay more money, why deny that opportunity? Work with the customer and waive the fee if you have to. Is a business not out to make money?

Again I see your side of things and I am trying to be diplomatic (despite being frustrated and confused) because if I go in acting like a rear end, well, my next call Monday will be karma. I'm not trying to steal, I'm not trying to be shady as I've been up front with what I'm doing compared to I'm sure countless exploits you've seen here. I have a simple request and it seems impossible, and to me, that's not good customer service and it will lead me to re-evaluate my options when contracts come up and ensure whether VZW is where I need to be or not.

OK the simple solution swap the Sim cards in your phone and your wife's phone wait 24-48 hours Verizon's systems update based on Sim then go in and trade in "your" phone and mention nothing of what previously occurred and you'll have the update on your line and shell have the 32gb maxx

OK the simple solution swap the Sim cards in your phone and your wife's phone wait 24-48 hours Verizon's systems update based on Sim then go in and trade in "your" phone and mention nothing of what previously occurred and you'll have the update on your line and shell have the 32gb maxx

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Won't work....the Edge agreement specifically says you have to trade in the same IMEI that was obtained from the beginning. Only scenario where a different IMEI can be returned is if the phone was replaced by warranty or insurance. Verizon's computer systems track this info. When you return a phone the computer system expects a certain IMEI to be scanned. If a different number gets scanned its considered a non-return.

Moo Cow's wife's phone is on a contract that runs through May 2016 so it is not upgrade eligible yet. However, Verizon will make an exception with the Droid Turbo. Turn in her Droid Maxx and they will allow her to break her contract. She won't get the $100 trade in credit, however. They won't do this with any other phone except the Turbo.

She cannot Edge up unless it is to the Turbo. That is the promotion. I'm sure I could call a few times and find random VZW CCR No 39242 and get some resolution to that, but I saw the guy at the store pull up our info and it said for the Edge program the only phone that could be used is the Turbo. Again, if someone is WILLING to give you more money... I guess it's just me, but I'd be like, okay, fine, you want to pay money per month? Go for it! Trade up! But common sense is dead and the obituary is quite the read.

Anyway there are a few valid ideas in this thread since I last read it. I will not deny that you guys have good suggestions to try. But at the same time, the point is, why does something so simple require me to run through a brick wall? Wile E. Coyote has better success with ACME products.

If I have time tomorrow before football (because I need a day predominantly composed of rest), I'm going to go to the store and trying one more time. If that fails, well, so be it. The swapping sim cards may work, BUT, Murphy's Law probably says, "Well, Mr. Moocow, you were under contract since December 2013, and we see you traded in this phone with this ID number, and we have this ID number on file for you, so unless you fix this, we'll charge you $300 or whatever we feel like."

We'll see... it's just frustrating. It should be simple, and it isn't.

EDIT: The Sim Swap probably won't work. When I log into my account, my phone is CLEARLY identified as the 32GB model and hers as the 16GB in red color model. So even if I did the whole swap sims and make my phone hers and vice versa, then walked into the store, that Murphy's Law comment probably would happen. And I'm sure the whole "Turbo only" upgrade is a lie, too. At this point, I admit, I've had a wild Thanksgiving weekend and my mind is spinning enough as it is. Maybe it's best I go to bed and approach fresh tomorrow.

Whenever I've switched phones, it does change the device on the account. It may not show up immediately, but it will show the change when you log into My Verizon. I've run into this when I've made an insurance claim and they want to replace my old device I activated after breaking the current phone I want to make a claim on. Apparently, the phone switch idea won't work according to some who claim to know otherwise. I'm not so sure after my insurance claim experience.
At any rate, you could go ahead and Early Edge giving up your 32GB, then your wife can Early Edge after 1yr. (It looks like she's about 7 months in?)
I've done it with 3 of the lines on my account, and it works out to be a net zero on my bill, except for activation fees of course. No two year contracts, and the ability to Edge Up after 1yr. I think you can even Edge Up after 6 months if you're willing to pay some money...

Moo Cow, sorry man it really does suck and Verizon is wacked sometimes! Makes me wish I would have looked into a different cell phone company! I thought that might work for you but each situation is different and I wish you the best of luck

I switched over the upgrade with someone else on my account, and then ordered the turbo to ship to store online.

When I went in, they told me they needed the person whose name was on the contract.

When I brought her in, they told us something went wrong. They made us wait for about a half an hour.

Then, some dweeb came up to me and told me there was an error - but no worries, he could save me money with the edge plan! I laughed and told him NO, I would not like the edge plan, I would like what I ordered online.

He then tried to tell me about the edge plan and I had to cut him off. I told him again I would not like the edge plan, and that I knew everything about it. I said if I wanted it, I would have gotten it.

Then, he whimpered something about "but it'll save you money...". I sternly told him that I wanted the phone that I ordered online, plain and simple.

He went to the back of the store, and half an hour later came out with my turbo.

It seems like every time I get a new phone, Verizon gives me [languaged removed by Moderator]for it. Ridiculous. If anyone else had as good service, I definitely wouldn't still be with this [language removed by Moderator] company.

So after tonight, I am questioning if I stay with Verizon. And I will probably cross-post this elsewhere (I try NOT to cross-post because it's spamming a board, but in some cases, you have to bend protocol a bit and I want to ensure I get a wide audience, not only from you guys -- who have been nothing short of wonderful in replying and trying to help or offer Devil's advocate stuff or whatever -- but from those who will hopefully provide insight on their strifes. Anyway...) Some of this will repeat earlier or give clarity in detail. But anyway...

So this is the detailed wall of text breakdown of everything this holiday weekend.

The background:

I am on the Nationwide 700 plan with five people total, myself, my wife, my in-laws, and another family member (who joined this year with a basic phone, but unfortunate medical issues +may+ have us canceling her line early, so essentially, it's four people except for the bill showing five.) The account is in my name and I've been with Verizon since Spring 2005, so I am a long-time customer and essentially have had this Nationwide plan since it was introduced whenever. (I forget now.)

I own a Droid Maxx black 32GB model that I got in mid-December 2013, so almost one year now. I use my phone for everything. I have photos, videos, music, etc., that are on my phone. I don't stream a lot, but when I do it's the spot sporting event on Watch ESPN, NBC Live, NFLST, etc. I have the phone on my arm band when I go run or work out. It is an integral part of my life from FitBit to web surfing to finance apps... you know, all the good stuff a smart phone is used for. And the battery life is just awesome.

In May 2012, the wife and in-laws came onto my plan shortly after my wife and I married. So I went from flying solo to a family plan. So May 2014 meant it was re-up time and they all got new phones. My wife and mom-in-law got Droid Maxx red 16GBs. My father-in-law remained on a basic phone; he's not a tech person like the rest of us.

The current:

So, here we are in November 2014 for Thanksgiving weekend, leading us into Monday, Dec. 1. VZW has come out with the Droid Turbo, the sequel to the Maxx essentially. It has a 64GB model. I've found myself needing more memory and the Maxx isn't expandable in memory. My wife has a 16GB model, but her iPod died, so we need to get her a phone with more memory so she can support her music collection. A lot of it is our personal media and we don't want to deal with the cloud. We do use it for Drive and Photos, but we also like stuff on our devices as well.

We figured, hey, they have Verizon Edge. Regardless what you think about Edge, let's put that aside and keep the story going. My plan going in was I'd have Verizon give me a 64GB Turbo. I'd then give my 32GB Maxx to my wife, and she'd turn in her 16GB Maxx to Verizon. On Black Friday night, I stopped into an official Verizon Wireless store (not a "certified to sell VZW items" store but an authentic one) to ask about it and they said no, they can't do that. The phone tied to your line has to be the one turned in. Okay, fine. But the salesman then said I could call customer service and inquire about if they can do any overrides, then stop back in and proceed.

So, thinking, "Okay, maybe there's a way," I called Saturday morning. The first customer service rep made a monotone rep sound colorful. This CSR put me on hold a couple of times and said nope, can't do it, no other options, blah blah blah, etc., call over.

Now, as a CSR in a different field myself, I know two things: I HATE it when people call in over and over to get what they want. BUT, I also know sometimes CSRs screw up and the next person gets to play damage control, clean up, whatever you want to call it. I confess, I've caused damage and also cleaned it up. It happens. So while I despise being the guy to call in and ask the same question, I swallowed my pride and did it later Saturday in the late morning/early afternoon, just to be sure. And the lady gave me a yes with one caveat: I'd have to use my wife's Edge up, turn her phone in, and then she and I swap around.

Whether this is true or not? I don't know. But the wife and I declined. It was too much red tape, especially if she wanted to edge up herself down the road, then we'd have more complications and headaches and we said the heck with it. We had plans Saturday, so everything was tabled for the day.

Sunday, I go back to the store. I see the same salesman. I told him what was up and that basically, it was a no-go as we didn't want to deal with the hoops. We'd just stay put and deal with our memory issues. But the guy saw we were on the Nationwide plan and said give him a few to do some math. Now we've done the More Everything share plan math in the past, and it's cheaper for us to be on the Nationwide plan. I have 6GB of data (lost unlimited when I upgraded but I never used all that anyway, so I'm not one of those to hold onto something for the sake of doing so.) My wife and mother-in-law joined during the double-the-data days when it was 4GB for the price of 2GB. So, they have that. The More Everything plans have always been more expensive than what it's worth.

But no, this time around, the guy did the math and said, "Yeah, it works now." It's because you can buy 10GB for the price of 6GB, and you have to have 10GB to truly take full advantage of the Edge program. A smartphone is $40 line access, but with 10GB of data you get $25 off if you have an Edged phone. So if the Edged phone is $25 or less per month, blam! It's $40 for month and essentially a free payment, and that covers my 64GB Turbo which would be $25 (key point here). Good math, right? (My mistake here was not getting a CLEAR explanation of the changes. In hindsight, I failed here.) The salesman assured us the price was negligible, maybe $3-4 more. Okay, we can do that, AND get our phones? Awesome!

Now, he said the upgrade of our Maxx's still were for the Turbo only. Again he recommended we call Customer Service to see if they can allow my wife to get a different phone. She really wants a LG G3, but in May, we went with what we had to do as for price reasons, and the Maxx was her best best given the deal at the time. Things have changed now, so she wants her phone of choice.

So I call Customer Service. For being at an official VZW store, we sure have to call Customer Service a lot. Can't they take care of everything. But anyway, I spoke to my third CSR in basically 24 hours and explained, "Hey, this guy at the store has found a way to get us onto the More Everything plan for virtually the same price we're paying now, we want to edge up, wife wants LG phone to replace Maxx, can you do it?" She comes back after a while and says no, the system won't allow it. I said on the website, when I select her phone and it says Edge eligible, it shows that phone in the list. (Mistake two on my part, I admit: I never went further than this. I didn't feel the need to. It showed it, right?) The CSR says that absolutely I can order off the website and go ahead and do it that way and get the early edge and she'd have her LG phone, I'd have my Turbo (and later on, my mother in law decided she wanted a new phone, too), and it would be free. My mother in law wanted the Note 4, and it was $29 so she'd have $4 to cough up, but okay, fine.

So we go back to the store. Our rep was with someone else, which is fine. Knowing he'd be a while, he said he'd switch our plan over that day, it would be reflected by evening, and we can order the phones. We took him for his word (hindsight: another mistake) and left.

Well evening arrives and no changeover. I'm not doing anything until I see the new plan in place, so I call Customer Service yet again to verify what is going on. And then these bombshells came out.

1.) No change was made to the plan. We were still Nationwide 700.
2.) This CSR did the math and based on the changes we were verbally told by the in-store salesman, we were told it would be a $40 increase in our bill, NOT the same price. And this matched what I saw when I tried to build my own edge plan by using the plan comparison feature. So, the in-store salesman lied or screwed up his math or something.
3.) Maxx's can only edge up to Turbo, period, no exceptions. The CSR said if another phone goes through, they'd honor the glitch, but he said it wouldn't. So while I was on the phone, I tried to upgrade my wife to both a Turbo and the G3. The Turbo 32GB is $25, but the 64GB model is $27, so the in-store salesman lied about that price. But the G3 only had a "full price" option and no edge up option like the Turbo, so the CSR from Sunday afternoon lied and her call notes were vague so there's nothing except for a call recording to be pulled.

Nothing has changed on the plan. We are still Nationwide 700 with everything we have had for a long time. But I told the CSR that I was very upset about the in-store rep lying, the two reps Saturday giving different information, and the fact that he and the previous rep Sunday also had different info on how to upgrade to something outside a Turbo.

In short, there is a lot of different storytelling going on and there is absolutely NO consistency whatsoever. I expressed this to the CSR politely. It's not his fault personally, and I realize that, but at the same time, someone needs to know I am frustrated and I calmly explained this to him. Never yelled, never cursed, just calmly explained my plight and how it's frustrating. I don't care if I can't get the phone unless I do this specific procedure; just tell me up front and I'll move on. Don't give me ideas of false hope and/or full of complications if it somehow can be done. That's not what I want. And being loyal for nearly 10 years, I deserve better.

What's next:

I plan on doing two things Monday to bring this issue to a close, because I'm finished with it.

1.) I'm going to speak to a manager at the VZW store and tell them everything from above, and I'm going to basically ask him what he can do to make it right. He needs to put his DIY Network hat on, play the role of Mike Holmes (great show, by the way), and fix it. I just spent Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and now Monday dealing with an issue that if properly dealt with by a truly knowledgeable rep from the start, could have been avoided completely! And that rep is under him. And while the CSRs aren't his responsibility, well, it's all Verizon, and he's the front line now. (Being a CSR and being the front line sucks, but that's our job, until it's clear a supervisor is needed/requested.) I want to know what he's going to do for me to address these issues and show to me that I should remain a customer. If I feel the answer is not satisfactory -- the "I'm sorry, blah blah blah" crap won't cut it -- I'll ask how much my ETFs are because we can and will switch once we decide on a company. I'll gamble on someone else if this is how VZW will treat me. If that doesn't spark anything, then nothing will, and it will likely seal my decision, barring something from...

2.) I'm going to call the customer service line and demand to speak to a sup, and I'll specifically request the call be pulled from Sunday afternoon where the woman lied to me. If they magically cannot pull that call and listen to it, well, that does seal my decision. But this will be a build-on to what is/isn't accomplished at the Verizon store. And I'll also ask them what my ETFs are because I have no qualms in going elsewhere after this experience. That, and it seems like every single time we need something at a VZW store, we're always told to call customer service. Well, what the heck is the point of a store if we have to call and talk to CSRs? Can't store workers be knowledgeable of their product? But something has to be done.

That's where I'm at right now. Basically they fix it, or I ask for ETFs and when the moment is right, we're gone. I don't know what is realistic to ask for as compensation, but for all this BS we've put up with, we deserve something for our troubles more than a simple, "I'm sorry," because I wasted a ton of time dealing with an issue that could have been quashed from the start. Knowledgeable people on these AC forums have given good answers I WISH I could have read beforehand, and now I know to ask before doing something to know what to expect. I had that resource here and fail to use it, so shame on me. At the same time, you would like to put trust into a store, right? Ultimately, I wasn't trying to fraud anybody, I just wanted my 64GB Turbo and to make my wife happy and my mother-in-law happy if she wanted to upgrade, and now it all seems to be a big waste of time. And I'm serious, I will explore options. I'm not afraid to go elsewhere and take a stab with them. Couldn't be any worse than Verizon, could it?

But almost 10 years, and I'm thrown around like a rag doll because of their own incompetence? That angers me. It took me an hour to write this so I could get Monday's battle plan in place with advice from you guys. Something has to be done. What it is, I don't know, but your help is appreciated.

If something isn't clear, I apologize. I was supposed to be in bed an hour ago, as on Sundays I go to bed after SNF ends on NBC. I am tired. So just answer with assumptions of both ways if need be. I'll surely be reading this at some point Monday when work breaks allow.

Thanks for reading all of that, and I hope you understand my frustration and can be of constructive help. I want to do what is right, but I gotta stick up for myself, too.

So, in the last year you've upgraded phones, knowing that you'd be able to upgrade them after two years, and now you're upset that you can't game the system to upgrade the device you want to upgrade a year early? I'm not so sure I'm sympathetic with you. You knew what you were getting into last spring when you did this.

Verizon is offering a very specific deal and you want to break their rules. Well, OK, I guess.

Good luck with whatever you choose. Sprint has ads that says they'll pay your etfs if you switch, at least part of them, on tv right now. Maybe that's your best bet.